Tunisia terror attack (23 killed + 2 terrorists dead after gunmen storm museum)

[Liu Kang]

At least 19 people, including 17 foreign tourists, were killed Wednesday when gunmen stormed Tunisia's national museum and took several hostages, according to the country’s prime minister.

Tunisian authorities did not release any details on the nationalities of the murdered hostages.

An official at the Italian foreign ministry in Rome said two Italians had been wounded in the attack, but it was not clear whether they were among the hostages.

About another 100 Italians were in the area and had been taken to safety by Tunisian police, authorities added.

Earlier, live television footage of the hostage-taking showed other tourists running for shelter, covered by armed police units surrounding the Bardo Museum, which is near the parliament building in central Tunis.

The attack on such a high-profile target is a huge blow for a country that relies heavily on European tourism and has so far avoided major militant violence since its 2011 uprising to oust autocrat Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

Tunisia’s uprising inspired "Arab Spring" revolts in neighbouring Libya, Egypt, Syria and Yemen. But its adoption of a new constitution and staging of largely peaceful elections has won widespread praise and put Tunisia in stark contrast to the chaos that has plagued those countries.

Several militant groups have emerged in Tunisia since the uprising, including Ansar al Sharia which is listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States.

Authorities estimate 3,000 Tunisians have also joined militant groups in Iraq and Syria, including the Islamic State (IS) group and some have returned home, increasing government fears of an attack on Tunisian soil.

Islamic State group affiliates in Libya are gaining a foothold as two rival governments there battle for control. A senior Tunisian militant was killed while fighting for Islamic State group in the Libyan city of Sirte over the past week, authorities said.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

http://www.france24.com/en/20150318-tunisian-forces-free-all-hostages-deadly-museum-attack-gunmen/

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[tru_m.a.c]

19? damn last I saw there were 8 dead

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Tunisia was supposed to be a success story

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

From Reddit:


Right now there are no other official sources, just twitter pics of people relegated by the security of the museum in safe rooms.
Report talk about 8 victims.
If anybody has other news please share them here.
Twitter pics:


EDIT 1 : /u/artureposir[3] report "8 confirmed dead by the Interior Ministry, 7 tourists and one tunisian". it seems that the victim are still locked in the museum, making the count difficult. Italian news agency says that 2 italian tourist wounded but 100 safe, maybe coming from a cruiseship (Costa Fascinosa)
EDIT 2 : other twitter pic, if you found other share them :
Some sources talk about military operation. Non official twit suggest 2 Britons, 1 French, 1 Italian, 1 Spaniard, 1 Tunisian and 2 unknown (the source is the Financial Times Middle-East reporter)

EDIT 3 : IS claimed the attack, but there are doubt about it. The blitz has clear some of the rooms, has suggested by news agency and the last picture reported on this tweet (direct link of the photo from /u/artureposir[7] ) :

EDIT 4 : Video of tourist escaping covered by Military, by local television, reported by Borzou Daragahi (Financial Times reporter):

EDIT 5: Siege ended, terrorist apparently killed and also a policeman killed in the blitz, 2 italians confirmed dead ( sadly, they could even be two of my hometown citizen, Turin. One of them has asked help in the social media. Anyway it's a pretty sad day for Italy, and obviously for other country). When FINAL STATEMENT WILL BE OFFICIAL, I WILL UPDATE AT THE START OF THE COMMENT


EDIT 6 : Apparently the victims are even more, supposedly found after the special forces storm the museum. Somebody is reporting at least 15. It's incredible it is still getting worse, and that there is so little clarity. Other agencies are suggesting a total of 17 tourists and 2 tunisian. I will have to go now, if the thread is still discussed this (for me italian) evening, I promise I will update with the actual numbers.

 

[Liu Kang]

19? damn last I saw there were 8 dead

Body counts always change until the dust settles and we're still in the confusion moment. We'll have to wait a couple of hours more for a definitive one I guess. Last I got is from the Tunisian Prime Minister which stated 19 dead (17 tourists + 2 terrorists).

 

[the cac mamba]

fair enough @ whoever deleted that

shooting up a museum tho thats just awful. what are they even trying to accomplish?

 

[Mowgli]

Omg were any black people killed

 

[I.AM.PIFF]

Tunisia seems pretty lax concerning these groups. Hopefully they toughen themselves.

RIP to the victims too

 

[88m3]

 

[gho3st]

fair enough @ whoever deleted that

shooting up a museum tho thats just awful. what are they even trying to accomplish?

i dont think these people will ever realize the futility of their attacks. IMO they are just "powerless" murderers hiding behind a weak ideology.

 

[Dr. Sebi Jr.]

First they say there's 8 dead, then later they say 19. Keep believing the official story, SHEEPLE. This reeks of false flaggery. WHERE IS THE BLOOD?

 

[Liu Kang]

*cleaned the thread*

 

[Liu Kang]

19 March 2015 Last updated at 13:22 GMT
Tunis Bardo museum: 'Four suspects' arrested for links to attack

​

Four people have been arrested for direct links to Wednesday's gun attack in Tunis that left 23 people dead, including 20 foreign tourists, the Tunisian presidency says.

The army will also be deployed to major cities, the presidency added.

One of two gunman involved in the Bardo museum attack, Yassine Laabidi, was reportedly known to the authorities.

Laabidi and his accomplice, Hatem Khachnaoui, were killed as security forces stormed the museum.

Tourists from Japan, Colombia, the UK and other European countries were killed in the attack.

On Thursday, two Spanish tourists and a Tunisian museum worker were found at the museum after having hidden there overnight, police said.

 

[88m3]

I was pretty doubtful but they're saying isis may have financed it. It seems like a real power vacuum is being seen with Al Qaeda loosing its influence.

 

[Liu Kang]

I was pretty doubtful but they're saying isis may have financed it. It seems like a real power vacuum is being seen with Al Qaeda loosing its influence.

Will we really know... ? I feel like ISIS can claim whatever they want at this point because they surpassed Al Qaeda as the main terrorist brand. Al Q really got undercut by this new school, "sexier" jihad that is doing ISIS while they are themselves so 2000 and late.

Islamic State group claims responsibility for Tunisia museum massacre

Text by FRANCE 24

Latest update : 2015-03-19

The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a museum in the Tunisian capital on Wednesday which killed 20 foreign tourists, according to an audio recording distributed online.

In an audio message posted online, the IS group said "two knights from the Islamic State... heavily armed with automatic weapons and grenades, targeted the Bardo Museum."

It threatened more attacks, saying: "What you have seen is only the start."

Trade unions and other civil society groups called for a silent demonstration outside the Tunis museum where the attack killed 20 foreigners and at least one Tunisian.

"The security forces were able to arrest four people directly linked to the (terrorist) operation and five suspected of having ties to the cell," the president's office said in a statement.

Authorities say as many as 3,000 Tunisians have gone to Iraq, Syria and Libya to fight in jihadist ranks, including with the IS group, raising fears of battle-hardened militants returning home to plot attacks.

The presidency said soldiers would be deployed to beef up security in major cities following the museum assault.

But "we are not under siege", a presidential source said.

As international outrage grew over the worst post-revolution attack in the cradle of the Arab Spring, President Beji Caid Essebsi vowed to fight extremists "without mercy to our last breath".

The leader of the Islamist opposition party Ennahda, Rached Ghannouchi, said he was convinced that "the Tunisian people will stay united in the face of barbarity".

Appeals for unity

The media also called for solidarity, with newspaper La Presse appealing for "total unity and a sense of responsibility shared by all".

Panic had broken out as gunmen in military uniforms opened fire at visitors as they got off a bus and then chased them inside the museum.

The dead included three Japanese, two Spaniards, a Colombian, an Australian, a British woman, a Belgian woman, two French, a Pole and an Italian, Health Minister Said Aidi said.

He said a policeman was also killed but did not mention a second Tunisian victim initially reported by the authorities.

Dozens more people were wounded in the assault, in a massive blow to Tunisia's heavily tourism-dependent economy.

At least two major cruise ship operators suspended stopovers in Tunis following the attack.

After cowering in fear in the museum during the night, two Spanish tourists were discovered alive and well, officials said.

In a show of defiance, the government said the National Bardo Museum would reopen early next week.

Prime Minister Habib Essid named the two gunmen killed by security forces as Yassine Abidi and Hatem Khachnaoui.

He said Abidi was known to the police.

Tunisia has seen an upsurge in Islamist extremism since the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring uprisings around the region.

The museum assailants were "probably" Tunisian, the interior ministry said.

Nine of the slain tourists were from the MSC Spendida cruise ship, whose owners said a special psychologist unit had been set up for passengers.

MSC Cruises and Italian operator Costa Crociere said they would divert cruise ships which had been due to berth in Tunis.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Date created : 2015-03-19

http://www.france24.com/en/20150319-islamic-state-claims-responsibility-tunisia-museum-massacre/

Also, last news is that they arrested 9 suspects related to the gunmen which are probably Tunisian.